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The Accounting Historians Journal Vol. 14, No. 2 Fall 1987
Joseph R. Razek UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS
ANTE-BELLUM BANK ACCOUNTING — A CASE STUDY: The New Orleans Savings Bank In The 1830s
Abstract: This is a case study of the history, operating practices and financial reporting system of an antebellum-era financial institution. The New Orleans Savings Bank, which served the people of Louisiana from 1827 to 1842, was founded as a philan-thropic endeavor and is an example of altruistic capitalism — as it was practiced in the nineteenth century. This institution is of particular interest to accounting historians because it maintained a relatively sophisticated accounting system which was, in many respects, similar to financial reporting systems in use today.
Introduction
Accounting history is, among other things, a study of the evolution of the communication of financial information — from its primitive beginnings to the sophisticated systems in use today. If we are to understand the rationale for today's accounting practices, we must be aware of how accounting has developed. One way to gain this awareness is to study the financial reporting systems used by different types of organiza-tions throughout history, as well as the organizations them-selves. From such observations we can draw conclusions as to the manner in which today's accounting practices and proce-dures have evolved and why they have evolved in this manner.
Unfortunately many accounting historians have tended to focus on accounting as a whole, rather than on the internal accounting practices of specific organizations and the organi-zations themselves. H. Thomas Johnson, for example, has stated that "they [accounting historians] regarded the pub-lished works of accountants as the only sources they needed to consult for their investigations. Accounting historians were limited, too, by their conviction that all accounting was a technical process one could study exclusively in terms of itself" [1986].
Other accounting historians, however, have felt that a great deal can be learned from the study of specific organiza-tions and their accounting systems. Among the organizations